1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of earth or ground anchors inserted lengthwise into the ground and tilted or rotated into anchoring position for presenting wide faces resisting tension loads tending to pull the anchor out of the ground and specifically this invention deals with plate-like ground anchors with a scoop channel on the leading end, an impact tool socket on the trailing end, laterally extending wings between the ends and a cable anchor cooperating with the scoop channel to maintain free swinging of the cable.
2. Description of Related Art
Ground anchors driven upright or edgewise into the ground and then rotated to transverse or horizontal positions in the ground are known for example in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,854 issued July 20, 1976; U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,513 issued Aug. 30, 1977; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,673 issued June 27, 1978. To insure tilting of these anchors into locking positions in the ground, the anchor must be free to swing relative to the cable so that when it has reached its desired depth in the ground and the cable is tensioned, it will tilt or rotate into a locking position.
It is also desirable to provide the anchor with extensive planar face or surface areas to resist being pulled out of the ground from their tilted locked positions. To maintain the free swinging relationship, the anchor of U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,854 was either dropped into a pre-formed hole or driven into the ground by a member which formed a hole. The open hole above the anchor did not provide any resistance for retracting the anchor and it was necessary therefor to rely on dirt on opposite sides of the hole overlying the anchor after it was swung into its transverse locking position or to pack a filler or concrete into the hole. Further, the tubular anchor disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,044,513 and 4,096,673 did not present appreciable surfaces to resist being pulled out of the ground from their transverse locked positions.
It would therefor be an improvement in this art to provide a plate-like ground anchor driven upright into the ground displacing a minimum amount of earth but forming a restricted channel maintaining a free swinging relationship between the cable and anchor and then presenting wide-wing barriers or surfaces to the ground when rotated into locked position to resist being pulled out of the ground. It would especially be an improvement in the art to provide a curved channel or chisel contour on the leading end of the anchor to maintain it in upright position as it is driven into the ground while plowing the earth away from the cable anchor to maintain the free swinging relationship of the cable and anchor without however forming a large open hole in the ground.